RICHMOND, Va. -- The number of people who were homeless in Central Virginia this winter remained relatively the same since last year, but the number of people sleeping in cars, tents, and other unsafe environments continued to increase.
The data, collected by volunteers and government agencies across the region for the Winter 2024 Point in Time Snapshot, was compiled in a new report released by the non-profit Homeward. Homeward is the managing agency of the region's homeless assistance network.
“The numbers are relatively stable to last year, which is good, but we’ve seen more people outside than ever before, and that's what really most concerns us," Homeward's director Kelly King-Horne said in an interview with CBS 6. “What this data tells us is that we have more work to do.”
On January 24, 2024, 681 people were homeless, according to the count. About 70% of those people were sheltered.
But 30%, more than 200 people, were unsheltered, which means they were not sleeping in a safe place. That's a 9.6% increase from the number of unsheltered people in last year's count.
The most common reasons people became homeless were reported to be economic hardship, the cost of housing, unemployment, and eviction.
“Housing makes a difference. Being able to afford housing allows individuals and families do all the other things they need to do in their life— get health care, make sure their kids are getting a good education, finding the next job or a better job," King-Horne said.
While King-Horne said long-term solutions should center around addressing a lack of affordable housing, rising rent prices, and wages that aren't keeping up with costs of living, Homeward's report showed short-term solutions remain strained, underfunded, and under-resourced.
The emergency safety net, which are the shelter resources within the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care, just cannot help everyone who needs help.
Take February 12, 2024 for example.
On that day, 99 people called the Homeless Connection Line, a phone number managed by Homeward, that people are encouraged to call when they reach a housing crisis.
King-Horne said 75 calls were answered live. 24 calls went to voicemail and were later returned.
But on that same day, the number of available shelter beds was zero.
So, all 99 people were unable to access services.
When capacity is full, King-Horne said Homeless Connection Line staff focus on problem solving in other areas – such as connecting people with food resources or employment resources.
In recent months, the Homeless Connection Line has been criticized by homeless advocates and city leaders for being unresponsive.
It's part of the reason some Richmond City Councilmembers have advocated for a physical point of entry into the homeless assistance network, which would allow people to walk up to a location to seek assistance, rather than solely call a phone number.
A physical point of entry is one of the federally accepted methods of entry into a continuum of care. Federal standards recommend that physical access points be centrally located, easily accessible by public transportation, and in close proximity to other community services.
City councilmembers have said in past meetings that they want the city's new housing resource center to serve as a physical access point, while expressing concerns that access points into the current system remain limited.
“Irate. I don’t know what else to explain it, but irate that we are still talking about a broken point of entry," Richmond Councilmember Stephanie Lynch said in a February council meeting. "We can build the Taj Mahal of homeless services, but without a working front door, what good is it?"
But King-Horne maintains that access is not the problem.
A recent report by the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care (GRCoC) policy committee made a recommendation against adding a physical point of entry.
Instead, the committee said the GRCoC should focus on increasing staff for its coordinated outreach team and enhance Homeless Connection Line processes to ensure calls are being answered or returned as quickly as possible.
“We know that more access will not increase how many people we can serve or what we can give them," King-Horne said. "What is the most responsible use of resources? It is to increase what we can give people and not just add ways for people to be told, 'Sorry, we don't have anything for you.'"
Though disagreements exist between advocacy groups on the best ways to serve the most vulnerable, King-Horne said the GRCoC's model is nationally recognized.
She said the system should continue to do what it knows is working, rather than take on "unproven" initiatives.
"Now's not the time to fight people helping. Now is the time to say, 'What do we do to make it possible for everyone in our community to have a safe place to live?'" King-Horne said. “If we care about schools, or about veterans, or about health care, or seniors or persons with disabilities, stable housing makes all of those things more likely to be successful, and so it matters. It matters to all of us.”
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